Is there a future for The Young and the Restless’ Daniel and Tessa? Cait Fairbanks weighs in

On The Young and the Restless, the once-beloved marriage between Mariah and Tessa has slowly deteriorated. While the details aren't entirely clear, something happened on Mariah's business trip earlier this year that nearly resulted in a man's murder.

Tessa's never had a real friendship on The Young and the Restless

After returning to Genoa City, Mariah (Camryn Grimes) immediately pushed Tessa away, offering no real explanation for her actions. Throughout this time, Tessa has grown much closer to Daniel (Michael Graziadei), a friendship that has remained platonic thus far. However, in a recent interview, Tessa's portrayer, Cait Fairbanks, teased a deepening connection between Tessa and Daniel, something Tessa may be unaware of.

Aside from her now-wife, Mariah, Tessa's character arc hasn’t showcased any other friends. For the longest time, she was a town pariah who blackmailed people, so that's hardly surprising. However, Mariah's sudden desire to push Tessa away has given Tessa room to explore a friendship with Daniel. Fairbanks hinted at this in an interview, telling Soap Opera Digest, "I think that Tessa really hasn’t had the opportunity to make connections and friendships that much — like, deep friendships — in her story on the show, but I think that this is one of those moments.”

The shift from friends to hopeful lovers has already clicked for Daniel, and his conflicted emotions are obvious, even if Tessa's not at that level yet.

Since Tessa hasn't expanded her social circle much outside of Mariah throughout her time on The Young and the Restless and in Genoa City, the situation brewing with Daniel is uncharted territory. They've spent countless hours together, with Tessa first serving as his music mentor and now embarking on adventures together to uncover the truth about Mariah.

Spending so much time in such close quarters with someone will inevitably stir up something, but Fairbanks teases that Tessa might not be conscious of this. "I think that there’s something there, but I’m not even sure she’s as conscious of it as he would be, you know? We’ve all been through really hard things and then met and had connections with people, whether it be romantic or friendship, or something. And I think that she’s still exploring that herself.”

The connection with Daniel is growing

Now that the face behind Tessa has confirmed a growing connection with Daniel, it sheds new light on the events of Wednesday's all-new episode. Tessa proclaimed how much Daniel's support has meant to her throughout the ordeal with Mariah. Daniel made a decent attempt at modesty, but Tessa wouldn't allow it. However, when it appeared as if a declaration of love was on deck or perhaps even a kiss, Tessa shocked everyone, mostly Daniel.

Unfortunately for Daniel, Tessa did not express any feelings for him or initiate any kiss. Instead, Tessa proclaimed Daniel to be not only her friend, but more importantly, her best friend. At least for the time being, Tessa and Daniel will remain friends, but his glaring urge for it to develop into something more may play a larger factor down the road.

If Tessa and Daniel make the trip to Boston to confront Mariah with their knowledge, it's possible she will pick up on the increased chemistry between them. Mariah pushed Tessa away, and she may have gone too far, bringing an unlikely duo together for a situational romance.

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Between Heather's murder and Mariah's current crisis, Fairbanks explained the destined nature of their connection, saying, "They’re basically both grieving, and grief is really powerful, and it can connect you to people. So I’m not sure if it’s something that she would explore right now, being so in that grief, but they definitely are equally connected to each other.”

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.

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